Verlagsgruppe Oetinger (Medienhaus Oetinger)

About Verlagsgruppe Oetinger

The Verlagsgruppe Oetinger (from April 2026: Medienhaus Oetinger) is a German publishing group focused on children's and young adult literature, headquartered in Hamburg. It was founded in 1946 by Friedrich Oetinger and remains family-owned to this day. The company comprises the Verlag Friedrich Oetinger with the imprints Moon Notes and migo, the Dressler Verlag with the imprint DRESSLERillustro, the Oetinger Media GmbH with Oetinger audio and Igel Records, as well as the stage publisher Bühnenverlag Weitendorf. The program includes board books, picture books, children's and young adult books in hardcover and paperback, non-fiction titles as well as e-books, audiobooks, audio downloads, films, apps and merchandising articles. Oetinger published, among others, Astrid Lindgren, Paul Maar, Cornelia Funke, Erich Kästner and Sven Nordqvist and is considered a pioneer of Scandinavian children's literature in Germany. In 2015 the group generated revenue of 41.2 million euros with around 190 employees.

Site

Hamburg

Processes

Audiobooks and audio downloads, E-books, Apps, Films/DVDs, Merchandising, B2B custom formats, Dramatizations, Teaching materials

Materials

Books (hardcover, paperback, board book), Audiobooks and audio downloads, E-books, apps, films/DVDs, Merchandising and B2B custom formats

Certificates

ISO 9001

Founded

1946

Employees

ca. 190 (as of 2015)

Industries

Children's and young adult literature, Publishing/Media, Audiobook/Audio

1. 01

   Program development and license acquisition

2. 02

   Editorial and production management

3. 03

   Production (print, audio, digital formats)

4. 04

   Distribution and marketing

5. 05

   Retail and B2B sales

Programs and Formats

Location

Publishing Programs

Company Quality

The group publishes over 2,000 available titles (as of 2017) and in 2015 ranked among the largest German children's and young adult book publishers by revenue share.

History

1. 1946

   Foundation of Verlag Friedrich Oetinger in Hamburg with one of the first licenses in the British occupation zone

2. 1948

   Publication of 'Der Kinderknigge' as the first step toward a children's book program focus

3. 1949

   Acquisition of the German rights to Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking

4. 1961

   Introduction of the Wild Goose trademark

5. 1971

   Acquisition of the Cecilie Dressler Verlag

6. 1976

   Acquisition of the Zurich-based Atrium Verlag

7. 1992

   First own digital product (Pippi Longstocking CD-ROM)

8. 1997

   Foundation of Oetinger Media GmbH by Jan Weitendorf; establishment of the publishing group

9. 2011

   Sale of textunes shares to Thalia and Xenos to Carlsen

10. 2018

    Restructuring of the publishing group and new brand appearance

11. 2025

    Launch of the online portal Giggly; renaming to Medienhaus Oetinger announced for April 2026